Highways and Public Works Minister Richard Mostyn says he can’t explain the former Yukon Party government’s handling of the tender for the new air ambulance contract.

But he says he can and will make sure the next time it comes out in two years’ time, the process is designed to attract maximum interest from competing companies and ensure the best value for the dollar, he said in an interview this morning.

Mostyn said the decision by the previous Yukon Party cabinet to pull down the public tender for the next air ambulance contract less than a day after it was posted last May remains a mystery.

So too does the decision to re-post it on Nov. 8 – the day after the territorial election that saw the Liberals win a majority government, he said.

“It seems like it was a cabinet decision,” said the newly appointed minister, whose department is responsible for managing tenders and contracts.

“As you know, cabinet decisions by the previous government are sort of put in a lock box for the next 15 years.

“So I do not have access to those things.”

Mostyn said he was actually hearing concerns about the tender process for the air ambulance contract while he was going door-to-door campaigning for the election.

The tender closed Dec. 1, with Alkan Air submitting the only bid for the two-year contract beginning April 1, with an option for a third year.

The company bid $5.8 million for the first year, $5.9 million for the second year and $6.1 million for the optional year, which is up to the Yukon government to exercise.

Alkan Air has had the contract since the late 1980s.

As the Star reported Monday, representatives of two other airlines have indicated the tender process was flawed because it’s unrealistic to expect a competing company could put together a bid and be in a position to take over such a complicated service in four months.

Dave Sharp of Tintina Air said the time frame was just too short.

Had the contract been awarded last June, as outlined in the original tender that came out in May, there would have been time to prepare for April 1, but even then, it would have been tight, he said.

Kevin Hillier of Carson Air in Kelowna, B.C., explained his company – which has five of the six air ambulance contracts in B.C. – looked at the tender but decided the time lines to bid and be ready were too short.

There is also the issue of availability of land for lease to provide hangar space at the Whitehorse airport, he said in an email correspondence with the Star.

Interim Yukon Party leader Stacey Hassard said today the decision last May to take down the air ambulance tender was made because cabinet “felt with such a long lead time you would have a bit of a disadvantage for local companies.”

As for why the tender went back up the day after the territorial election, he has no idea, he said. Hassard explained once an election writ is dropped, members of cabinet are hands off when it comes to contract discussions and decisions.

“All I am saying is that it did not come from our government,” he said.

Hassard said the time lines for the tender released last month are similar to the time lines used for the previous air ambulance contract.

Yukon Party MLA Scott Kent, who was re-elected last month, was the minister for Highways and Public Works at the time.

Alkan Air president Wendy Tayler said this morning her company is proud to have provided the territory with such an important service since the late 1980s.

Tayler pointed out when the existing contract – a five-year arrangement with two additional one-year options – came out seven years ago, the time lines were very similar to those included in the Nov. 8 tender, and there were seven bidders.

Saskatchewan just put out its air ambulance tender on Dec. 1 with a closing date of Dec. 22, with the winning company expected to be ready for an April 1 start, she said.

Tayler said the time lines included in the November tender are not unusual in the industry.

Alkan Air was as surprised as anybody when the tender was taken down less than a day after it was posted last May, she said.

She was also surprised to see it re-posted the day after the territorial election, she added.

Mostyn said Health and Social Services Minister Pauline Frost will be reviewing the air ambulance service to determine if any changes need to be made prior to the next tender process in a couple of years.

For his part, he said, he will tell his department he does not want the third optional year to be exercised.

He will be instructing staff to provide a tender process aimed at maximizing opportunities for competitive bids.

Mostyn said it’s perplexing why an outgoing government would make the decision to re-tender the air ambulance contract the day after the election.